Türkiye seeks U.S. approval to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine

Türkiye has requested permission from the United States to retransfer significant stockpiles of cluster munitions to Ukraine. The proposed $256 million deal involves transferring decades-old weaponry, including 12 M270 multi-barrel rocket launcher systems, 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 M26 rockets, and 47,000 M509A1 203mm artillery projectiles.

These munitions contain over 10 million explosive submunitions. Many of these weapons were originally produced in part by Türkiye under U.S. licenses dating back to 1987. A senior U.S. State Department official notified Congress on August 6, 2026, that the United States is prepared to authorize the transfer, noting that Türkiye aims to reduce its inventory of older defense articles to focus financial resources on modernizing its existing systems.

Human Rights Watch has raised concerns regarding the transfer, noting that cluster munitions are banned by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, a treaty signed by 112 countries. The organization warned that transferring obsolete and inaccurate munitions into a conflict zone creates a foreseeable humanitarian liability for civilians due to high failure rates and imprecise targeting.